Gideon Clarke
@gideonclarke
Like my father before me, I have on more than one occasion been physically ejected from the corporate offices of the Chicago Cubs baseball club.
A timely reminder that if the Jays bring back Bichette long-term, which I’d love them to do, it has to be as a second baseman.
David Bednar: Pretty good for a guy who was sent to the minors earlier this year. Good value on all three types of pitches. Arb-eligible next year, FA after that. If you’re worried he might turn back into a pumpkin, you won’t want to pay what (even) the Pirates (should) ask for him.
Ryan Helsley: Very good, just not metahuman like the other guys. Gives up seriously hard contact. Free agent at the end of this season. Trade cost should be lower because of that, but everyone’s looking for relief help, so the Cardinals can probably name their price.
Emmanuel Clase: Everything I just said about Duran, but more so. $6.4M salary in ‘26, club options for $10M each in ‘27 and ‘28. What’s the price level above “king’s ransom”?
Jhoan Duran’s Savant page: The model of “shutdown closer.” Arb-eligible starting next season, under team control through 2027. He’ll command a king’s ransom, but do the Blue Jays need a closer when they already have Hoffmann? Do they want to pay a huge price for what amounts to closer insurance?
Joe Ryan: As good as it gets at the deadline. Legit Game 2 starter. Affordable and controlled through 2027. But the Twins would clean out the Jays’ farm system — think Nimmala *and* Yesavage, plus more. I don’t think the Jays need a near-ace in the rotation, especially not at an astronomical price.
Mitch Keller: Not as nice as you’d like to see. Getting out of Pittsburgh always makes a pitcher better, but that can take time, and the Jays would need to see a significant uptick from day one. Also controlled through ‘28. Merrill Kelly would be much cheaper and not that much worse.
Edward Cabrera: Much better. But he’s also averaging just 4 ⅔ innings in his last 11 starts, and anyway, he’s team-controlled through ‘28 and would cost a fortune. Not a trade-deadline acquisition.
Merrill Kelly, on the other hand: not that bad. FIP is 3.48, though he hasn’t pitched into the 7th inning since May. A rotation stabilizer, but not someone starting a playoff game.
It’s a Bowden idea, so judge its plausibility accordingly, but I’d make this trade yesterday.
.319/.386/.528 vs LH in 163 AB, with strong underlying metrics. I’d be glad to have him back.